Allies, rivals target PM Modi over Delhi poll drubbing

Allies and political rivals alike took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the crushing defeat suffered by BJP in Delhi elections on Tuesday with the party's Maharashtra ally Shiv Sena saying the results showed "tsunami" in the national capital was bigger than Modi wave.

New Delhi: Allies and political rivals alike took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the crushing defeat suffered by BJP in Delhi elections on Tuesday with the party's Maharashtra ally Shiv Sena saying the results showed "tsunami" in the national capital was bigger than Modi wave.

Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray tweeted that he agreed with Gandhian Anna Hazare that the election result was a defeat for Modi.

"Delhi has shown that tsunami is bigger than a wave...It is a message to those who lord over Delhi," Thackeray said.

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee, with whose party BJP has been having a running battle, said "arrogance and political vendetta have been defeated today" and that BJP's "balloon has burst".

She said, "Delhi election is turning point of present political situation. Shows political vendetta has no place in a democracy. Country needed this change."

Her party spokesman Derek O'Brien said the message from the Delhi polls was "Bhaag (run) Modi Bhaag".

BJP's Tamil Nadu ally PMK said the reason for AAP's landslide victory was that people were yearning for change due to "corruption" in government administration.

JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar said the poll outcome in Delhi was a referendum on Modi and "it reflects the mood of the country".

In an apparent attack on Modi, he said, "Hawabazzi se kaam nahi chalega (things will not work only on the basis of lofty talks).... Astonishingly in such a short span of nine months of Narendra Modi government, the mood of people is changing against him."

Attributing BJP's abysmal performance to its government's failure to deliver on any of the "tall promises" made during the poll, Kumar said, "He (Modi) talked lofty things on return of black money, paying enhanced bonus to farmers, special status to Bihar in 100 days but none of them are visible even after lapse of nine months."

National Conference leader and former Jammu and Kashmir

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said the lesson in this verdict is that Modi and BJP "aren't unbeatable if you take the fight to them, don't wait for mistakes."

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), with which BJP is in talks for formation of government in J&K, said the poll result in Delhi is a "loud and clear message to all political parties that people are supreme".

While stating this, party spokesman Naeem Akhtar, however, ruled out the possibility of it having any impact on its alliance with BJP for government formation in the state which is under Governor's Rule.

"Our talks (with BJP) on government formation are for the betterment and development of Jammu and Kashmir. Delhi elections and the government formation here are not connected," he said.

Senior Shivsena leader Sanjay Raut hoped that the BJP would deeply introspect on what the Sena chief has said.

"The country will run under colletive leadership. While Modi's leadership is strong, it must be borne in mind that there are different voices and they should be respected. There is no single and supreme power, the power belongs to people," he said.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said the people of Delhi have given the "right verdict" by supporting the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal.

"The Delhi (Assembly election) results are an example to show that the people are thinking differently from traditional politics," he said in a statement.